ZIPAIR Is Launching Low-Fare Flights Between Tokyo and Houston

Updated: October 10, 2024, 3:35pm CDT

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New ZIPAIR Flights to Houston
ZIPAIR’s 787-Only Fleet
Final Thoughts

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Japanese low-cost airline ZIPAIR is launching a new flight from Tokyo to Houston, beginning in March next year.

ZIPAIR is a long-haul airline known for offering, in addition to economy, a no-frills business class that’s cheaper than mainline carriers while still featuring a lie-flat seat. Other services can be bought in addition to the basic airfare. That’s the long-haul iteration of a model U.S. passengers may be familiar with from low-fare airlines such as Spirit or Frontier.

Here’s what travelers should know about this new route.

New ZIPAIR Flights to Houston

According to a statement on the airline’s site, the service from Tokyo’s Narita airport (NRT) to Houston – George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) will be ZIPAIR’s sixth route to North America after Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San José, and Vancouver. Tickets are already on sale.

The flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, from March 4, 2025, with the following schedule:

Flight ZG16 departs Tokyo Narita at 10 a.m. and arrives in Houston at 6:45 a.m.
Flight ZG15 departs Houston at 8:45 a.m. and arrives at Tokyo Narita at 1:50 p.m. the next day.

ZIPAIR’s site showed a non-changeable $1,682 fare in ZIP Full-Flat — the airline does not call it business class — for a one-way trip from Houston to Tokyo on March 9, 2025. Standard class, equivalent to economy, is $332 for the basic fare with no additions.

If you want more than just a seat, there’s a package including 1 checked bag and a meal, plus the ability to select your seat, for an extra $104 in Full-Flat class. Other additional packages, featuring things like date-change flexibility, cost more but still add up to much less than mainline carriers charge.

It’s notable that Wi-Fi on board ZIPAIR is free, but service over the Pacific can be spotty. During a Los Angeles-Tokyo flight earlier this year, ZIPAIR delivered a totally no-frills, and somewhat unfriendly, experience: You really do get just a seat, and anything else — including water — has to be paid for separately.

With that in mind, though, the price difference is clear from a quick Google Flights search. In March 2025, the lowest business-class fare from Houston to Tokyo on other airlines is $3,251 with inconvenient itineraries or even 2 stops, while the nonstop from IAH to NRT on United Airlines costs $5,264. United’s Star Alliance partner ANA flies nonstop to Tokyo’s other airport, Haneda (HND), much closer to the city center, for $5,364.

Hot Tip:

Since ZIPAIR does not offer points transfers from partners, you could pay for the flight with a Capital One credit card that earns miles, and then use your miles to cover the purchase. That provides a way to pay with miles when you can’t use a transfer partner.

ZIPAIR’s 787-Only Fleet

ZIPAIR, based in Tokyo, has been flying since 2020.

It operates only 1 type of aircraft, the Boeing 787-8, the smallest variant of the 787. In ZIPAIR’s configuration, the 787-8 seats 290 people, more than most airlines put in the same aircraft, but the 18 seats up front are as roomy as other lie-flat beds on 787s. The 1-2-1 seat layout on ZIPAIR also gives direct aisle access to every passenger in Full-Flat class.

In economy, the 272 seats are laid out in the 3-3-3 pattern most airlines use on 787s. Only 1 airline operates some of its 787s with a roomier 2-4-2 layout in coach, and that’s ZIPAIR’s parent company, Japan Airlines. In fact, most of ZIPAIR’s small fleet of 8 planes used to fly for parent JAL, according to fleet-tracking site Planespotters.

ZIPAIR serves 10 destinations in North America and Asia from Tokyo. Note that the airline is not a partner of any major frequent-flyer program, and you can earn or spend rewards only from its own Zipair Point Club points.

zipair route map — ZIPAIR’s network stretches across the Pacific Ocean. Image credit: Zipair

Final Thoughts

ZIPAIR is truly a no-frills, low-fares, just-the-basics airline with a vast advantage in price over other long-haul airlines. Its new service connecting Houston to Tokyo may be appealing if you are after low fares, and for people who need space, it’s hard to beat ZIPAIR’s lie-flat seat at bargain prices. You do have to be ok, however, with a pricing model where everything besides the naked seat costs extra.

With Houston (IAH) being a major hub, however, flying to here to catch the new ZIPAIR nonstop may be attractive even for people based outside of Texas.